MIAMI, Jan. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Defiance ETFs today announced the launch of the Defiance Retail Kings ETF (NASDAQ: RKNG), an actively managed ETF developed in collaboration with Futurum Equities that is designed to capture stocks where surging bullish retail investor participation is driving momentum, leadership, and price discovery.
Retail investors are no longer reacting to markets. They are shaping them. RKNG is built to systematically identify and invest in companies where retail conviction, digital engagement, and price momentum converge, often ahead of broader institutional participation.
“Retail investors have fundamentally changed how markets work,” said Sylvia Jablonski, Chief Investment Officer of Defiance ETFs. “RKNG is designed for this new reality. We focus on where retail participation is strongest and combine it with momentum and innovation signals to build a portfolio positioned for leadership, not lagging indicators.”
A New Framework for Retail-Driven Markets
RKNG represents a differentiated approach to thematic and momentum investing. The fund leverages Futurum Equities’ proprietary retail sentiment model to identify companies exhibiting elevated bullish retail participation, digital engagement, and investor conviction.
This retail intelligence is combined with Defiance’s momentum scoring framework, which evaluates price persistence, relative strength, volatility-adjusted returns, and trend confirmation to construct a concentrated portfolio of stocks demonstrating sustained leadership.
The result is a focused portfolio of “Retail Kings,” companies positioned at the intersection of retail conviction, structural innovation, and market momentum.
“We built $RKNG to reflect how the real economy is being rebuilt right now where AI, energy, defense, healthcare & space infrastructure are converging. Working with Defiance on RKNG lets us package that thesis into a product designed for how capital will actually be deployed over the next decade,” said Shay Boloor, Chief Market Strategist of Futurum Equities.
Why RKNG Stands Apart
- Retail Sentiment Intelligence. Proprietary analysis of retail engagement, digital activity, investor participation, and sentiment trends to identify elevated bullish conviction.
- Momentum Overlay. Systematic ranking based on price trends, relative strength, volatility-adjusted performance, and confirmation signals.
- Innovation-Focused Exposure. Targeted allocation to companies shaping next-generation technologies and platforms, including AI infrastructure, semiconductors, space and defense, financial platforms, energy innovation, and advanced healthcare.
- Active Management. Quarterly rebalancing with flexibility to respond to shifting momentum, emerging leaders, and changing retail participation dynamics.
- Daily Transparency. Full daily disclosure of holdings so investors always know what they own.
The Retail Kings Portfolio
At launch, RKNG holds approximately 30 companies, equally weighted and rebalanced quarterly across six innovation-driven themes, representing approximately 100% of the fund’s net assets. A complete list of holdings is available here. Holdings are subject to change.
AI Compute & Data Centers
MU, NBIS, VRT, IREN, CIFR, WULF
Semiconductors & Equipment
AMD, INTC, LRCX, NVTS
Space, Defense & Physical AI
ASTS, RKLB, JOBY, KTOS, ONDS, SYM
Financial Platforms
HOOD, OPEN, CVNA, LMND, PGY
Energy & Materials
OKLO, EOSE, UUUU, MP, QS
AI Software & Healthcare
PLTR, TMDX, QURE, QBTS
“This is not a meme ETF. These are companies with real technology, real revenue, and real growth narratives. What makes them Retail Kings is that individual investors often recognize their potential early. RKNG is designed to identify that leadership before it becomes consensus,” Jablonski said.
X Social Media Handle: https://x.com/RetailKingsETF
About Defiance ETFs
Founded in 2018, Defiance is a leading ETF issuer with over 60+ thematic, income, and leveraged ETFs.
About Futurum Equities
Futurum Equities develops proprietary analytics and sentiment models designed to identify emerging investment opportunities driven by retail participation and digital engagement. As the sponsor of RKNG, Futurum brings its retail intelligence capabilities to the ETF structure in partnership with Defiance.
Important Disclosures
The Fund’s investment sponsor is Futurum Equities. Defiance ETFs LLC is the ETF adviser. (“Defiance ETFs LLC” or the “Adviser”).
The Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other important information about the investment company. Please read the prospectus and / or summary prospectus carefully before investing. Hard copies can be requested by calling 833.333.9383.
Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. As an ETF, the Fund may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. A portfolio concentrated in certain sectors, industries, investment styles, or themes may be subject to a higher degree of risk.
Principal Risks of Investing in RKNG
Market Risk. The Fund’s investments may decline in value due to general market conditions, economic events, geopolitical developments, or factors affecting specific industries or issuers.
Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective due to the Adviser’s investment decisions, portfolio construction process, or security selection.
Retail Sentiment Risk. The Fund’s strategy relies in part on proprietary models measuring retail investor participation, sentiment, and digital engagement. These signals may change rapidly, may not accurately predict future performance, and may result in increased volatility.
Momentum Investing Risk. Momentum-based strategies may experience periods of underperformance, particularly during market reversals or periods of elevated volatility, when securities with strong recent performance decline rapidly.
Sector and Theme Concentration Risk. Because the Fund may concentrate its investments in certain sectors or themes—including technology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, space and defense, financial platforms, energy innovation, and healthcare—it is more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those areas.
Technology and Innovation Risk. Companies involved in advanced technologies may face rapid innovation cycles, intense competition, product obsolescence, cybersecurity risks, and evolving regulatory environments.
New Fund Risk. As a newly organized fund, the Fund has no operating history, which may limit investors’ ability to evaluate performance or management effectiveness.
Liquidity Risk. Shares may trade at prices other than NAV, and certain underlying holdings may experience reduced liquidity, particularly during periods of market stress.
Volatility Risk. The Fund may experience significant price volatility due to concentrated exposure, sentiment-driven trading, and rapid changes in investor behavior.
Third-Party Data Risk. The Fund relies on third-party data and analytics, including retail sentiment and market data, which may be incomplete, inaccurate, delayed, or subject to disruption.
Operational Risk. Failures or errors by service providers, systems, or counterparties may adversely affect the Fund’s operations or performance.
Total return represents changes to the NAV and accounts for distributions from the Fund.
Note: The Fund is not suitable for all investors and is designed for those who understand active management, momentum-driven strategies, thematic exposures, and the risks associated with retail-investor-influenced market dynamics.
Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
Media Contact:
Sylvia Jablonski
[email protected]
833.333.9383
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c5b330f0-7417-419d-bf53-9582b0a6f8d9